


get back up when i fall (rip the paint from the wall)

by SheWhoWalksUnseen



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Adopted Sibling Relationship, Alien Character(s), Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Kara Danvers isn't Supergirl, Lily Stein is Supergirl, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-29
Updated: 2019-10-29
Packaged: 2020-12-28 01:57:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21128891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SheWhoWalksUnseen/pseuds/SheWhoWalksUnseen
Summary: A series of prompts, either from Tumblr or via ideas from messagingAgentMaryMargaretSkitz, based on the idea of Lily Stein taking on the role of Supergirl on another Earth.





	get back up when i fall (rip the paint from the wall)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AgentMaryMargaretSkitz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AgentMaryMargaretSkitz/gifts).

> What can I say? We love role reversals with women in power.
> 
> Also, I'm dedicating this first fic (and the whole collection, honestly, since we keep egging each other on for both this and the KF!Barry au) to Kate because the moment she said "Lily as Supergirl and Jax as Alex", I knew I was gonna love everything about this au. Love you <3
> 
> Title comes from Adam Lambert's "Superpower".

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No set prompt for this other than me going off the word "fragile" to write a short little scene for these two. I'd die for adopted siblings Lily and Jax, and that's final.

“I could’ve flown here, you know.” If Jax heard her, he didn’t reply. Her brother was too busy helping her down the hall to the door (they’d both agreed to compromise when she tried to protest and almost fell to the floor on the stairwell). Lily huffed and bit her lip as a new wave of pain swept over her, riding the sensation, uncomfortable as it was, until the agony began to dull. 

Jax came to a stop at the door and Lily shrugged off his arm the moment he went digging into his pocket for the keys to the apartment. The knowing look he sent her earned him a glare in turn. She did her best to look threatening, despite her short, lean stature and general physical wellness at the moment.

Her brother just snorted and looked away. Lily put her whole weight against the wall of the hallway and tried not to scowl at the side of his face. Not that it seemed to do much good when his eyes swung over to meet hers less than fifteen seconds later, causing another low laugh to escape him. As if there was something inherently amusing about this whole situation.

“Jeez,” Jax muttered, a smile playing on his lips as he fumbled for the keys to the door, flat-out ignoring Lily’s groan at how slow he was going, “you’re mean when you’re injured.”

“You’re treating me like I’m an old lady,” Lily whined, glaring over her shoulder when she was poked in the ribs in retaliation. Honestly, Jax was treating her like she was about to keel over with the next light breeze; she wasn’t _ frail_, she was an alien - a _ superhero_!

“Maybe I should offer you some lozenges,” Jax teased. He got the door open and slung her arm back over his shoulder, snickering under his breath when Lily tried to elbow him and winced. She grabbed her side tighter with her free hand and let him pull her across the threshold into her apartment. 

It took a few minutes and sucking several deep breaths through her nose but eventually, they managed to get her situated on the sofa with an ice pack the size of Jax’s forearm. Lily raised an eyebrow and he just sighed.

“Just take it, Lils.”

“I don’t need it,” she grumbled.

“Right, and I’m the Queen of England.”

“Well, that’s news to me. Explains why you’re a royal pain.”

Jax’s mouth twitched but he didn’t object to her slinging around insults. 

Shit, maybe he really was worried.

“Can you just take it? Please? You’ve got bruises the size of my head.”

“Your head must be small, then.” Still, when he kept holding it out toward her, she took the ice pack, wincing and hissing as she slowly pressed it to her side. It burned in both a relieving and agonizing way, and Lily refused to meet Jax’s knowing gaze as she held the ice pack tighter to her side.

He always looked so smug. So perceptive.

Maybe it was just him playing the part of the big brother, trying to protect her from anything and everything while _ she _ was nearly indestructible, could catch bullets with her bare hands and shoot lasers from her eyes, and he was _ human_. Malleable. Squashable.

Fragile.

Jax would’ve lectured her if he heard her call him any of those words, particularly fragile. _ I work with the government, I risk my life every day, I’m not fragile, Lils. _

No, maybe that wasn’t the word she was looking for. Vulnerable, perhaps? 

Her stomach twisted and she pretended it was because of the large bruises throbbing under the ice pack.

Jax dropped onto the couch next to her with a huff, gentle enough not to jostle her hand or the ice, and grabbed the remote, his brow furrowed. Watching him turn on the TV now, flipping quickly past the news (neither of them wanted to watch Lily getting her ass beaten on National City News by those rogue White Martians, which was fine by her) and frowning at the sitcom on the next channel like it had offended him, Lily couldn’t help but notice the bags under his eyes. Part of her wanted to reach out and trace them, smooth them away like wrinkles on an old shirt, but he’d probably just give her a weird look.

She’d never noticed how tired Jax was. Even when he went off to college before her and they FaceTimed, he’d always looked so cheerful, sniping back at her when she told him to sleep instead of staying up until two am to finish his chemistry assignment.

Now he just looked exhausted, worn out beyond belief.

Lily waited a few minutes, casting glances over at her brother every so often while he stared at the screen before she hesitantly wrapped her free arm around his shoulders like they had in the hallway. Jax jolted, just a little, and looked at her, eyes searching.

“You alright?” he asked. Always taking care of her, always checking in.

That churning in her stomach was back. Lily forced a smile, tried to make it more sincere when worry crossed his features. “Yeah, yeah. I’m fine.”

“You’ll heal soon,” he said as if she was actually worried about remaining injured forever. Truth be told, the bruises would be gone and her ribs would stop feeling like they’d been crushed by a truck within a couple of hours. “And I already told Amaya not to call us in unless it was an emergency. She’ll understand.”

Lily tried to picture waltzing into the DEO after the ass-kicking she’d gotten today and the only result she saw coming out of that was being dragged out by the arm while Amaya snapped at her and ordered her to stay home.

It was an order wrought out of love, of course, and Lily still remembered the quiet admission weeks ago from the usually stoic woman that, at times, she and Jax reminded Amaya of her daughters back on Mars. Which Lily and Jax had absolutely _ not _ teared up hearing and then proceeded to hug her over in the middle of the director’s office. 

But still. They both knew Amaya would have kicked_ both _ of them out if they hadn’t gone home themselves.

“I know.” Lily shifted the ice pack lower and bit back another hiss through her teeth. She could feel Jax watching her now.

“You really scared me.” His voice was low, almost inaudible despite the inches between them.

“I’m the Girl of Steel, remember?” She faced him and the taut corners of his frown made her want to hug him. She settled for squeezing his shoulder. “Supergirl can handle a few bumps and bruises every now and then. I’m a big girl, I don’t need any kid gloves, alright?”

“I wasn’t scared for Supergirl,” Jax said. “I was scared for my sister, Lily.”

Lily swallowed hard as he looked away, eyes fixated on someplace to the left of the TV. The live studio audience burst into uproarious laughter, far too exaggerated to be taken seriously.

_ I’m not fragile, you don’t have to tread lightly around me or - I’m _ fine_, really. _

“I’m sorry.”

Jax blinked but he didn’t turn. “What for?”

“Making you worry.” Lily sighed and let her head hit the back of the couch, shutting her eyes for a moment. “I just… I forgot what it’s like to get hurt. Like, _ really _ hurt in a battle. And I’m lucky because I’m healing and I can walk and talk and move all my limbs but...”

“I forget you’re not human sometimes,” Jax said as she trailed off, flashing her a tight smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “You’re a helluva lot stronger than I am, that’s for sure - physically and emotionally.”

“That’s a lie.”

“It’s not! Lily, you’re a survivor. You came here from another _ planet_, and you still see the good in people every day. You’ve experienced worse demons than I ever will.”

“Hey, I think we’re both pretty well-versed in childhood trauma,” Lily said, and while she didn’t intend for her words to come out as a tease, neither she nor Jax could seem to stop themselves from starting to smile. “But you’re the one who helps me get back up. I couldn’t do this without you. You know that, right?”

“Of course.” Jax pressed a kiss to the crown of her head and she squeezed him closer around the shoulders, laughing when he poked her side, high above the ice pack and bruises. “But I mean it. You’re strong and… I don’t know what I’d do if you were close to…” Jax’s voice wavered. She didn’t like the flicker of something grim and sad she couldn’t name crossing his features. “Be careful, that’s all. Okay?”

Lily nodded and removed her arm around him to pat his cheek. “I always am. I promise.”

Her brother smiled, features smoothing out and softening, and her heart stopped aching, just a little. She’d never be able to keep out of danger, not as Supergirl, but for Jax, as Lily?

Well, she’d do her best. After all, he was just as - if not _ more _ \- reckless as she was, and he had as much of a hairpin trigger as she did. Human or alien, neither of them were the best at keeping out of trouble.

Together, though, Lily thought to herself as she curled the best she could into his side and fought a laugh at Jax’s running commentary over the sitcom onscreen, maybe they could save each other.

**Author's Note:**

> Come scream with me (or prompt me) at my DCTV Tumblr @areyouscarletcold. Comments are always appreciated, and have a great day!


End file.
